Super Bowl: DeBartolo, York ‘full circle’

And the chain reaction is ending here, right where Jed York was sitting in his French Quarter hotel on Thursday morning.

“I think we’ve come full circle,” York said.

When his uncle, Eddie DeBartolo, delivered $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in March of 1997 in an attempt to secure a riverboat gambling license, it sent the 49ers and their ownership on a trying and emotional journey, one that dismantled a dynasty and wrenched apart a family.

DeBartolo pleaded guilty to one felony count for failing to report an extortion plot and was suspended by the NFL for a year. His sister, Denise DeBartolo York, took control of the team during DeBartolo’s legal troubles. The siblings filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits against each other. The 49ers floundered, becoming one of the league’s worst franchises. The family ties were strained.

But under CEO Jed York’s direction, the 49ers picked up the shards, pieced them back into a winning configuration and will play in their first Super Bowl in 18 years. There’s a chance that DeBartolo will celebrate the day as a newly honored member of Pro Football’s Hall of Fame. He is one of 15 finalists being voted on in New Orleans on Saturday.

“That would be the most unbelievable thing to ever happen to me,” DeBartolo said by phone from Los Angeles, where he was visiting his daughter.

DeBartolo will not be in New Orleans unless he is voted into the Hall – the announcement will be made in the afternoon and, if necessary, he will fly in from his home in Montana. Otherwise, he’ll watch the game alone, “with a stiff drink” and the company of his three dogs.

While DeBartolo enjoyed his experience at the NFC Championship Game – where he embraced old friends and presented the George Halas Trophy to his sister in an emotional postgame moment – he doesn’t want to step on the Yorks’ Super Bowl experience.

“I absolutely think I was a distraction in Atlanta and I shouldn’t be,” DeBartolo said. “I had my time. This is their time.”

It’s a time that few thought would ever come again. For years it seemed that the 49ers’ focus on winning stopped with the end of DeBartolo’s ownership.

“I was in high school when everything started,” York, 31, said of the troubled era. “It was a trying time. Not a fun time for my family.”

New era begins

But York helped the healing. When he took the reins in late 2008, he made sure to lean on his uncle for advice.

“He’s much, much smarter than I was,” DeBartolo said. “I told him to find the right people and let them do their job. Give them autonomy. He’s done a magnificent job. Now when we talk, it’s an uncle and godfather talking to his nephew and godson.

“He doesn’t need my advice anymore.”

DeBartolo, 66, is again close to his sister. He lives part time in Tampa and part time in Montana, where he raises Clydesdales on his ranch (he estimates he has about 300). He goes to Youngstown, Ohio, every other month, and the first thing he does is visit his sister.

“No family is perfect,” he said. “But life’s too short.”

York joked that he’s like his uncle: “We’re both short, unathletic and grew up in Youngstown.”

He did take DeBartolo’s advice to heart when he elevated Trent Baalke to general manager and hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach. York recounted the day Harbaugh met with Baalke and other 49ers brass at a private home. The meeting began at lunchtime and went well into the evening, and everyone was sitting in the dark because they didn’t know where the light switches were located. It was clear to York that he had found the right combination.

“What I’ve learned from Eddie is trying to do things in a first-class way and making sure you don’t interfere with what your experts are trying to do,” York said. “Listen to your gut, trust yourself and do what you think is best for the organization. If you make a mistake, own up to it and move on.”

Setting an example

DeBartolo was famous for being a hands-on owner, hugging his players, caring for their families and handing out towels in the locker room. York is more restrained, though the players see him almost daily, working out at the facility. He’s always in the locker room after games.

“I don’t consciously try to emulate Eddie, but when you look back, it’s like, ‘Wow, Eddie did that. That’s where I saw it,’ ” York said. “I think that’s why even as a younger person taking over a team, I didn’t feel it was something beyond my capabilities because I grew up with it.”

York is passionate about his uncle’s qualifications for the Hall of Fame.

“My belief is that he’s the best owner in the history of professional sports,” York said. “It’s a shame he’s not in the Hall of Fame yet, and I think he should be. Hopefully, it goes his way.”

York dismisses the notion that DeBartolo didn’t contribute to the NFL and did nothing more than spend lavishly.

“I think he did change the NFL,” York said, citing DeBartolo’s revolutionary hiring of Bill Walsh, his support of the minority coaching program, his insistence on holding hisplayers to a high standard, and his concern about players’ health and safety issues as among his accomplishments.

“Have you ever seen players love their owner as much as our players loved Eddie?” York said. “And it’s not just because he gave them money. It’s because he opened up the 49ers and made it a family.”

Holding a grudge

DeBartolo knows that some Hall of Fame voters might harbor a grudge against him because of his legal issues.

“I made a mistake,” DeBartolo said. “A lot of people make mistakes that they’re sorry for.”

The location of the Hall of Fame vote might remind voters of those troubles. But it should also remind them of DeBartolo’s greatest accomplishment: five Super Bowl rings.

DeBartolo recalled his trip to New Orleans for Super Bowl XXIV against Denver. He sat in the stands with Walsh, who was in his first year of retirement.

“Bill,” DeBartolo recalls saying, “I’m really nervous.”

Walsh cocked his head and looked at DeBartolo.

“Eddie,” Walsh said, “relax and drink your beer. This is going to be a blowout. They can’t cover anyone. Everyone’s open.”

The result was a 55-10 49ers win.

Distant memories

York was in third grade at that Super Bowl. He was in eighth grade at the 49ers’ last Super Bowl, and his parents accused him of sneaking some alcohol at a Super Bowl party, though it turns out he had the flu. That was 18 long years ago.

“Those 18 years seem like 18 minutes to me,” DeBartolo said. “Where did that go?”

York, like his uncle, will be nervous on Sunday. He said his wife, Danielle, claims he turns into “a werewolf” the night before a game. It might be a good thing that DeBartolo plans to stay in Montana. York said he and his uncle could never be in the same spot for a game.

“Way too much nervous energy,” York said. “I think the time continuum would explode.”

Under York’s guidance, the 49ers’ time continuum has compressed. What’s old is new, the past is present. The fissures have healed and the 49ers are back in the Super Bowl.